Road construction has become a part of everyday life for persons using city and rural streets and highways. In order to alert the driver to various road hazards, it is conventional to utilize either large orange barrels or metal "sawhorse" type signage. Both types of conventional high traffic warning devices have their problems.
Metal sawhorse-type signage may be the most hazardous of the prior art apparatus currently utilized at construction projects. First, because the signage may be easily blown over by wind, sandbags are conventionally draped over the signage to maintain the signage in position. Such sandbags actually increase the hazard, since they become flying objects if the signage is hit by a moving vehicle. Second, the metal sawhorse signage causes damage to the vehicle, and can also be thrown into the air and through windshields or windows because of its relatively high center of gravity.
Conventional flasher units are installed on the top of the sawhorse signage, complete with battery pack and can easily be thrown from the signage if hit by a vehicle. Thus, the flasher unit also becomes a flying object which can be deadly if thrown through a windshield or window of the vehicle.
Finally, warning signage is only useful when in an upright position to warn approaching vehicles of a road hazard. Thus, once conventional metal sawhorse type signage is knocked to the ground, either by wind or by vehicles, it becomes useless as a warning marker.
Similarly, the large orange barrels which are conventional utilized as warning signage typically utilize heavy sandbags or weights on a barrel base to maintain the base into position. The barrel is then connected to the base to retain the barrel in the desired location. While the barrels are less likely to damage vehicles or the occupants of the vehicles, they are easily dismounted from their weighted base, thereby exposing the weight on top of the base to further contact by a vehicle. In addition, once the barrel has become disconnected from the base, it no longer serves as a warning sign for the particular road hazard.